(Albany, NY)-The New York State Senate passed legislation, Senate Bill S5833, sponsored by Senator Bonacic that would make key improvements to the practice of electronic filing (e-filing) by the state judicial system. Starting in 1999, the state began to introduce a pilot program in the use of electronic means for the purpose of commencing certain categories of cases and filing court papers with Judges and adverse parties.

With the final days of the 2015 Legislative Session underway, the State Senate has been passing a number of important bills that Senator DeFrancisco supports. Some of these bills would hold tax delinquent landlords accountable, establish the felony offense of aggravated assault, and honor the life of a fallen local officer, Glenn Searles.

On the featured program of Your Voice, Senator John A. DeFrancisco discusses these bills, as well as the recent federal report on hydrofracking and the Governor’s "Raise the Age" proposal.

Senator David Carlucci will be hosting Legal Services of the Hudson Valley Office hours at his Ossining District Office, located at 2 Church Street, in Ossining, NY, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

“When it comes to children, seniors, veterans and vulnerable members of our community, they should receive the best legal counsel available, regardless of their income,” said Senator David Carlucci. “I look forward to partnering with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, and I hope anyone who is need of quality legal advice joins us for our office hours.”

Legal Services of the Hudson Valley will be providing free comprehensive civil legal services for individuals cannot afford an attorney and need free, quality counsel for the following issues:

"Chanukah is the celebration of miracles, a reminder that all things are possible," Senator Parker said. "As you celebrate the spirit of Chanukah with friends and family, I wish you health, happiness and good fortune." The holiday celebrates a legendary victory of the Maccabees, a band of Jews, over a Greek army that occupied the Holy Land. After the battle, the victorious Maccabees found only a one day supply of oil in the temple to light the lamps. But the oil burned miraculously for eight days, the story says.

"The good news is that millions of upstanding, hardworking undocumented immigrants will now be able to continue contributing to our economy without having to live and work in fear of deportation.

"The bad news is that millions of other upstanding, hardworking undocumented immigrants will remain in the shadows of our economy and society.

"President Obama is to be applauded for taking a strong first step toward long-overdue reform of our broken immigration system. Like the president, we in New York should not wait on Congress to make additional necessary repairs.

"The DREAM Act is sensible, compassionate public policy. It is the law in Texas, a red state, California, a blue state, and New Mexico, a purple state. Here, the New York DREAM Act is supported by editorial boards throughout the state, including those at newspapers as different as the New York Post, The New York Times and the Daily News.

"Let’s follow the bipartisan example of the five states that have already passed a DREAM Act. Let's collaborate in New York on making an investment in our young people, our economy and our state’s future that will pay for itself several times over."

Here is a partial listing of bills I have supported this session to aid New York’s former servicemen and servicewomen. These initiatives will now go to Governor Cuomo for final action.

-- Legislation I co-sponsored was passed by both houses (S.7839, first introduced as S.4714)) to extend the Military Service Credit Law of 2000 to all veterans who have served in the military. Right now, public employees who served in the armed forces may purchase up to three years of pension credit only if their military service occurred during specified conflicts. This measure will expand this opportunity to public employee veterans who also served their country in peacetime.

Based in Albany, New York, the New York State Defenders Association is a non-profit, membership organization, that provides direct services and training programs to the 6,000 lawyers who represent family or criminal court cases for low income people.

For direct assistance, visit their website at www.nysda.org or call 518-465-3524.

(Brooklyn, NY) - "Sixty years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its unanimous ruling in Brown v the Board of Education. As we all know, the Court's decision made it crystal clear that not only were the racially segregated school systems of the day unequal and illegal, but that segregated schools could never be equal and therefore violated the U.S. Constitution.

BRONX, NY– Standing on the steps of the Bronx County Supreme Court, Senator Klein, joined by dozens of Bronx homeowners and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo (D-Bronx), announced that a lawsuit charging fraud, conspiracy, breach of contract and negligence had been filed against members of an elaborate scheme targeting first time, minority homeowners. Homeowners allege that the defendants, working in concert, (referenced to as the “Tota-Kash Group” in the complaint), bilked them for millions of dollars by inducing them to purchase homes in the Bronx without valid certificates of occupancy and with shoddy workmanship.

(Brooklyn, NY) “Today, U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin concluded that NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly’s Stop-and-Frisk program has violated the Fourth and 14th Amendment constitutional rights of potentially millions of Blacks and Latinos in New York City.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Today, Senator Ted O’Brien’s bill requiring that individuals convicted of DWI pay for their medical transportation before their driver license could be reissued passed the New York State Senate.

“Individuals who break the law and drive while intoxicated put every other motorist in danger. When our emergency services personnel put themselves on the line to aid these impaired drivers, at a minimum they deserve a guarantee that they will be compensated,” Senator O’Brien said. “Insisting that these drivers pay the medical transportation expenses incurred as a result of their reckless actions is another way to deter this behavior and protect law-abiding drivers.”

The NYS Department of Financial Services (DFS) is setting new rules to speed the processing of insurance claims in areas affected by Storm Sandy. The new regulation reduces the amount of time an insurer can delay its decision on a claim, and requires insurers to report to the Department on how many claims it is delaying and the reasons for the delays.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the proposed 2013-14Executive Budget and Management Plan that builds on two years of balanced, fiscally responsible budgeting and invests in economic development, education reform, rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy, provides support to local governments and school districts, and includes no new taxes or fees.

Highlights of the Executive Budget:

· Eliminates $1.3 billion budget gap with no new taxes or fees. The expected gap for 2013-14 was projected to be $17.4 billion prior to the last two responsible budgets.

In an effort to cut down on the time the Newburgh City Court has to spend addressing parking tickets, Senator William Larkin (R-C Cornwall-on-Hudson) and Assemblyman Frank Skartados (D-Milton) announced the passage of legislation that will allow Newburgh to establish an administrative tribunal to handle all parking tickets.

"This is a great day for the City of Newburgh," Senator Larkin said. "It has taken over a decade, but after all these years I am very happy the legislation has finally passed both houses of the Legislature. I look forward to the Governor signing the bill into law and allowing the City to finally begin recouping the money they so desperately need."